Little Giant

Moviecut—Little Giant

source: Little Giant

Abbott & Costello work apart in this experimental film that sees Lou as Benny Miller, a young man living in the country with his mother(played by Mary Gordon). He has just recently completed a correspondence course in becoming a salesman, and goes into the city to become a vacuum cleaner salesman, where he goes to work for it's crooked president played by Abbott, who uses him for his own purposes. He is a bust as a salesman however, though his colleagues play a cruel trick on him that eventually backfires... Elena Verdugo plays Lou's understanding fiancée. Strange film works at keeping them apart, but is seldom funny, and pretty contrived, though innocuous enough to be acceptable viewing.

What first pops into your head when you think of the names Abbott and Costello?... Most anyone you ask will say slapstick, humor beyond it's years, and acting of the most ridiculous scenarios of their time. All I have to say is that "Little Giant" defies it all. This film is thankfully free of all those "thrown in" ditties in every other A&C film (besides "Who Done It?" at this time), and finally gives Lou the main romance. The duo, although not working as a comedic team, pull off a great film with the unseen talents (at the time) of each other. Abbott and Costello were a great duo making people laugh for a good 20 years (I believe). The general population of people will tell you that both A&C were ONLY made for comedy, and that is where they're wrong. "Little Giant" is a film which contains the rare abilities of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello acting out a character driven drama. First, the supporting cast is phenomenal with the talents of Brenda Joyce, Jacqueline deWit, and George Cleveland as the people who take Costello under their wing at his new job. Then the charming Elena Verdugo plays Lou's love interest. She doesn't drop the ball... and Lou and herself play it off as a poor, soon-to-be-married couple who would like to settle down. And we see clearly that Lou doesn't love anyone more than his mother who takes care of him and believes in him. Bud Abbott executes his roles firmly as (both of) Costello's sales bosses, and shows how much more of an acting ability he had playing two roles that parallel each other from the extremes. And finally, Lou Costello... plays a poor farm-town boy-- clumsy yes... but out to prove he can be a salesman. His character has a lack of confidence and throughout the film we see him slowly take low blows from the other salesman he comes to meet. There are a few scenes which made me really feel for Lou's struggling character. When the salesman are making fun of him without him knowing, and especially when he's standing in the mud- as miserable as anyone can be- looking at the mangled bird cage, that had the bird he so willingly wanted to give his mother... bringing home nothing else but his failed attempts to be successful. This film is NOT completely sad-- (if that's how I'm making it out to be...) there are moments where you can really smile toward Lou's character. Costello also manages to throw in a few laughs when he can, and one of the ol' A&C skits are thrown in (7x13=28). Really-- Bud and Lou really hit something here... maybe not a perfect film, but one enough to make you really feel for the struggling protagonist. And honestly, not many comedians can really pull these kind of performances off...

What one notices right off hand is that Abbott and Costello aren't the usual sidekicks to each other in this picture. Abbott portrays two different characters who are cousins, one mean spirited and one who takes to Costello's character as the story progresses. Lou is generally funny as ever, but with an often disconcerting mood of sadness and poignancy to his persona. At times, even he's unaware of it, as in the diner scene when his co-workers at the Hercules Vacuum Company give him the business about reading minds and have a good laugh at his expense. There are a few bits that caught my attention in the picture relative to prior A&C projects. The 'seven times thirteen equals twenty eight' bit got a workout here, first seen in "In The Navy". I also got a chuckle out of the road sign directing Benny Miller (Costello) to 'Anaheim, Asuza, and Cucamonga', a railroad station gag that got some mileage on the old Jack Benny TV program courtesy of Mel Blanc. My recollection also says the bit appeared in one of those old Warner Brothers cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny; it was the pronunciation of 'Cucamonga' that always had me roaring. Even with some of the darker aspects the story touches on, Lou still comes out a winner at the end of the movie, having been named vacuum cleaner salesman of the year and winning the heart and hand of his girlfriend back home (Elena Verdugo). What I still can't figure out is how his commission on the sale of nine vacuum cleaners contributed to a ten thousand dollar bonus. A stand up vacuum cleaner in the Forties with a 'powerful brush motor' would set you back a whole forty dollars, so for Hercules to break even at a fifty percent profit, they'd have to sell about five hundred! Though some of the reviews for the film here on IMDb consider it one of the weaker Abbott and Costello entries, I didn't find it to be too bad. It may have deviated from the usual formula of their early stories, but sometimes a change in style isn't the worst thing for a film series. As for the pathos that some fans aren't comfortable with, the one A&C picture that really disappoints is their very last one with Bud and Lou completely out of character, with a muddled story line that includes gangsters and a murder. It's called "Dance With Me, Henry", and though not terrible, it's just not very entertaining. *** Trivia note for "Little Giant" - During the railroad car scene, when the train porter asks Benny Miller what his berth is, Benny begins to reply March 6th before he gets cut off. Lou Costello's birthday was March 6th, 1906.

Included in the second of Universal's multi-disc DVD sets of Abbott and Costello, LITTLE GIANT is a charming film, full of pathos, and NOT a standard A&C comedy. First, Abbott and Costello are not a team here. It's basically Costello's film, with Abbott in a dual role as both the film's antagonist and the antagonist's cousin, who befriends Costello. Second, the comedy is more physical than is usual for A&C and less verbal. It proves what a fine physical comedian Costello was. Third, the film tries for pathos instead of pure slapstick, and strays into territory more associated with Chaplin or Harry Langdon or even Jerry Lewis (as in Hardly Working, which this film reminded me of). Once again, Costello proves his talent as an actor of quality and depth. I applaud Universal for trying to develop the talents of Abbott and Costello in films such as this one and THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES, which followed it. Interestingly, after these two changes-of-pace for A&C, Universal played it safe by doing a sequel to BUCK PRIVATES, their first solo smash. Abbott does a nice job in both roles (obviously, the "positions" of his toupee were intentional!). A shame he did not get more character roles such as these. With the wide circulation the new DVD boxset will give LITTLE GIANT, I feel it will gain a new and understanding audience who will appreciate the chances the film takes. Finally, the wonderful Elena Verdugo is as charming as ever.

Having just rewatched Laurel & Hardy's Our Relations in which both stars played twin brothers. I then felt the need to then rewatch this one in which Bud Abbott played two roles-a Mr. Morrison and a Mr. Chandler, revealed to be cousins by their mothers being sisters. Oh, and Abbott also posed as the grandmother of them as shown by the portrait hung in Chandler's office. Before I reveal their function in the story, let me first mention that Lou Costello plays Benny Miller, a farm boy who's been listening to correspondence records on being a salesman. So he goes to Los Angeles to meet Mr. Morrison and, well, something goes wrong that I won't reveal here. So Benny then goes to Mr. Chandler's who reveals the backstory I mentioned above. Now when I first watched this in 1980 as a 12-year-old kid watching this on a late Saturday night on "The Abbott & Costello Theatre", I remember being a little confused by the direction of the story since for once, the two stars weren't presented as friends as many others of their movies had done up to then. When I later read bios of Bud & Lou, including Lou's daughter Chris' book "Lou's On First", I found out two things: first, the box office of a couple of their last movies weren't doing as well as before, and second, the two weren't getting as much along as before to the point of avoiding each other when not performing. So a decision was made to change the formula of their movies starting with this one. Their next one, The Time of Their Lives, also dispensed with the usual A & C formula. Actually, at least one routine was reprised here-"7 x 13=28" which they previously did in In the Navy. Also, as a kid watching, I remember not liking so much drama permeating this one, I mean, previously, Lou had some lines meant to provoke feelings but then went back to the comedy, here, it took a while to get back to that. Having now watched this again on YouTube, I actually like this much better now. Also, what a treat to now find Sid Fields, best known as the landlord in the comedy team's TV show, as one of Benny's first customers who gives it to him good concerning his family's health in order to avoid getting sold on anything. Another treat is seeing Fifth Marx Brother Margaret Dumont being the victim of Benny's vacuum cleaner demonstration. She had also appeared with W. C. Fields and Laurel & Hardy during this period. Speaking of L & H, the director here was William A. Seiter who previously helmed Stan & Ollie's Sons of the Desert. Among the fellow salesman Benny associates with is one played by Joe Kirk who was his brother-in-law who, like Fields, also appeared in that TV show as an Italian friend. One more supporting player I have to mention is Chester Conklin, a Sennett veteran who also once worked with W. C. Fields during the late silent era (I only know this because I once read a filmography book on Fields which had pics of the three now lost films he and Conlkin made). Here he's a hotel valet. Okay, so with all that, I'll just say, if you're interested in a different sort of A & C flick, Little Giant is recommended. Oh, and my next review will be Laurel & Hardy's Hog Wild...

Abbott and Costello star in "Little Giant", and it's got some of their usual stuff, but they don't appear as a team in this movie. Lou is a sap hoping to make his way in the business world, only to repeatedly run into trouble in the process. Bud appears in dual roles, playing the managers of the company's branches. My favorite scene was Lou performing some twisted mathematics. While more serious than most of A&C's movies, it does let Lou engage in his usual clumsiness. The main point is that in this setting, there are plenty of folks eager to use his naivete against him. I understand that Bud and Lou were starting to have a falling-out when they made this. They made a few more movies together, but by the end, their relationship had soured so much that Bud learned of Lou's death by reading about it in the newspaper (at least that's what I've heard). Anyway, an interesting movie, if nothing great.

"Little Giant" is a big departure from the usual pairing of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. In most of their films, they operate as a pair. But in this film, they are individuals who meet some time into the film. That is, Lou meets "one" of the But Abbotts - Eddie Morrison, and then he later meets the other Abbott, T.S. Chandler. That's the second unusual pitch of this plot - with Abbott playing two roles. This is a fine comedy, but it also has a serious side with Costello having center stage throughout. It's interesting that this film was made during the falling out between the two men. During this and the other 1946 film that completed their Universal contract ("The Time of the Their Lives'), they reportedly seldom spoke to one another. Their off-screen lives which had been friendly and close, was likewise strained. Within a couple of years, they would get back together as friends. This is the film in which Abbott and Costello first do their math skit, "7 times 13= 28." In a discussion about the quota of vacuums that the sales force must sell, Chandler says that with seven salesmen, each man would have to sell four vacuums. But Costello's Benny Miller says that 28 divided by 4 is 13. That leads to Chandler challenging him to multiply and add as well. In each instance, Miller does the math to show the number according to his way of thinking. This is a humorous skit that the two men repeated on their TV program years later. That is the only real skit between the two comedians. But Costello has several solo scenes or comical scenarios with others. One occurs on an overnight train from Los Angeles to Stockton, California - a distance of just 337 miles by driving on I-5 today, but nearly 500 miles by rail then. On that ride, Costello struggles trying to bed down in an upper berth. As with many Abbott and Costello films, the supporting cast are mostly little known or lesser known actors of the time. But they all do a good job in this film. The most recognizable is George Chandler who plays the salesman, O'Brien. Chandler has a distinctive face that movie fans will recognize, and he had supporting roles in more than 460 films in a career that lasted more than 50-years (1928-1979). Another familiar face to fans of older films will be Donald MacBride who plays the conductor. He was in more than 160 films, mostly comedies. The most recognizable female performer from the film will most likely be Brenda Joyce who plays Miss Ruby Burke. She was known for playing the role of Jane in five Tarzan films of the 1940s. She made 27 films over 10 years, but walked away from Hollywood after "Tarzan's Magic Fountain" of 1949. This is an Abbott and Costello film that comedy fans should enjoy. Only, be prepared for a different "look" than the usual Bud and Lou pairing. Here are some favorite lines form the film. Benny Miller, "I feel like a tin can with a dog's tail tied to it." T.S. Chandler, "Did you ever go to school, stupid?" Benny Miller, "Yes, sir, and I came out the same way." Miss Ruby Burke, "What's the trouble, Benny? You're lower than a caterpillar with fallen arches." Benny Miller, "I penetrate people's brains and leave my mind blank." Hazel Temple Morrison, "Oh, you shouldn't choke." Benny Miller, "How do I not choke?"

Bud Abbott only appears occasionally as the sales managers (they are cousins) from different branches of "The Hercules Vacuum Cleaner Co.". They have two great sketches together. "13 goes into 7-28 times" and when Lou is asked to disrobe to pose as Hercules in an ad. Costello plays a sweet and naive country bumpkin that has charm and very little else going for him. Of course one of the cleaners has to malfunction and spray black soot over everything! He carries almost the entire movie by himself. Once you get used to that, sit back and enjoy a film you haven't seen for years! The first 20 minutes introduce several characters including his mom and fiancée. The movie would play fine without an annoying and complaining "customer" who only "buys" free air. He charms all the pretty "girls" who find him cute. The "boys" (salesmen) play an old bar-room gag on him, convincing him that he can read minds. The next day he sells 9 "Little Giants"! He wins a $10,000 salesmanship prize. In 1946 that was a lot of money. I enjoyed it! (Now playing on TCM.)